FicWad

~At the Studio~

Christine paced back and forth outside the closed studio door trying to build up the courage to go inside; she stepped back in front of the mirror down the hall and adjusted her hair then tried to straighten her skirt for the thousandth time. She sighed and rolled her eyes, "You've got to be kidding me Christine!" She growled out loud and moved swiftly to the door. This was ridiculous; she was here for some vocal training to prepare herself for the tour and it happened to be with Erik; nothing more nothing less. She just shook her head and pushed the door open to a dark recording studio, "Hello?" She reached to the wall to turn on the lights and made her way into the now lit studio. She looked around and Erik was no where to be seen, she couldn't help the feeling of disappointment.

Erik made his way slowly out of his room; he was still a bit hesitant about tonight. After his conversation with Annette he'd felt a little peace; it was something he hadn't felt in a long time, the part he'd been missing in his life. Then Nick comes along and throws him together with Christine, 'Christine....' He thought letting a small smile grace his lips. She amazed him, she was funny and sweet yet still so full of life; he had to admit he really did enjoy her company as well as her voice. Erik had been hiding away from the world and somehow she'd found him and touched a part of him he'd thought rested only in the hands of Elizabeth. That thought was for another night, tonight he'd get some practice with her and they'd call it an early night. They still had 3 weeks left of practice, and everyone would need all the rest they could get.

Christine wandered around the studio turning the radio on, she'd been here for almost 10 minutes already and she couldn't take the silence anymore. She started to scan the radio stations hoping to find something up beat to keep her mind off the fact that she was being stood up, 'Stupid...he's got more important things to do. Grr... Nick! Why get my hopes up!' She thought aggressively as she stopped scanning the channels settling for an R&B station playing a new hit. Christine swayed to the music slowly and started to sing softly along with the chorus, "I really wanna be wit you...but I gotta be real wit you. I can't leave you alone even though I'm livin' wrong, I can't let you go..."

Erik made his up the studio door noticing it was always cracked open, music wafted out into the hallway along with a female voice he recognized instantly. Erik peeked his head inside the door and smiled as he watched Christine dance slowly to the beat of the music, pushing the door open slightly he snuck inside and leaned against the wall next to the door content with just watching her. A bright smile came over him as he watched her, she was completely oblivious to the fact that he was even in the room; of course he was the same way when it came to music.

Dancing and smiling as she sang along with the music Christine made her way over to the small fridge and grabbed a bottle of water out opening it as she continued to move and sing. Turning slowly she continue to voice the chorus, "I really wanna be wit you...Oh god!" She shrieked dropping her water when she noticed she wasn't alone in the room, her eyes were wide and she reached quickly for the off button on the radio.

"Funny...I never pegged you as a rap artist?" Erik smirked at her clumsy antics after seeing him.

"You scared me!" She retorted quickly settling for lowering the volume since she'd suddenly become incapable of finding the off button. "You should make noise when you walk...you could give a girl a heart attack sneaking up on her like that."

Erik lowered his head unable to hide his smile, "I apologize for scaring you...you do know that song is about a man cheating on his wife?" He asked her kneeling down to pick up her water bottle handing it to her slowly.

Christine raised a curious eye at him accepting the bottle she replied, "I know...it's still a good song." Christine smiled at him and started to blush a bit, "So you saw that whole thing huh? With the dancing and singing?"

Erik shook his head and let out a little chuckle, "You act like you've two left feet and a bucket with a hole in it..." he responded quickly moving to the fridge and getting himself his own bottle of water.

Christine turned and watched him, a bright smile forming on her lips, "Was that a compliment conveyed by sarcasm?" She crossed her arms over her chest and stood there awaiting a response.

Erik turned to glance at her, without missing a beat he winked at her and took a long drink from the now open bottle of water. Erik felt good just playing this little game with Christine, she'd initiated it but he was still able to play. He put his bottle down and leaned against the counter, "I hear you strained your voice this week, want to tell me about it?" Erik wanted to get the whole story about how she had injured her voice, especially they are going to be working very hard over the next few months and he wanted to make sure she wouldn't experience the same problem during the tour.

Christine sat down on the couch against the wall and started to fiddle with the label on her water bottle, "Ok...it wasn't my fault. I mean Attila the voice coach pissed me off...I'm sorry but my voice will carry past the stage." She stood up and started to pace becoming agitated with each step, until something caught her attention. She looked back at Erik with a look of disbelief, "You're laughing at me?"

Erik couldn't help but chuckle at her tirade, "Attila the voice coach?" He started to laugh openly at her irritated look, "Ok...ok I'm sorry. That's what you're here for to work on your voice; so you don't strain it during the tour."

Christine anger quickly disappeared and she started to laugh with him noticing how foolish she sounded, she rolled her eyes, "Ok yah so I did sound kinda foolish." She pointed her bottle towards him, "You know...this is the longest conversation we've ever had."

"Yes well when you are working with someone you tend to carry on a conversation," Erik quipped back to her quickly.

Christine held her hands up in defeat, "Ok monsieur, I am your student...teach me." She put her hands on her hips with a coy smile. Erik was different than anyone she'd ever worked with, and definitely more talented; she was more than ecstatic to be working and learning with him. Of course that was the professional in her talking, the woman in her continued to flirt with the incredibly amazing man before her.

Erik nodded; he moved into the hallway and waved for her to follow him into the recording room, "Best way to start is to get you through some scales, the piano is in here."

Christine followed close behind him, "Is there any instrument you can't play?"

Entering the recording room Erik turned back to her, pondering for a few moments. "Actually....the piccolo," at Christine's confused look he continued, "My fingers are too big." At her laugh he smiled and moved behind the piano, facing her he played a few keys.

Christine leaned on the piano watching him for a few notes, "So where do we start?"

Erik glared at her, "You start by standing up straight." At her confused look he continued, "You asked where we start with your voice training, we start by you standing up straight. Posture is everything in music and your diaphragm is very important in keeping control of your voice."

Christine slowly stood up; she was definitely in for an interesting evening. "Ok, in up-right position, you said we were starting with the scales? Which scale first?"

Erik just started a slow scale, "Bottom of the scale, hold for three counts and continue up until we find your weak spot...sound ok?" Erik continued playing a few notes then started the scale for her to accompany.

Christine nodded then started her vocal ascension up the scale, holding for three counts on every note. She watched Erik the entire time; he was completely focused on her and her scale. After the first few notes he stopped playing and just listened to her singing, making sure to concentrate on every note for its clarity.

Erik noticed that as Christine began to near the higher octaves of the scale she was starting to struggle, "Keep singing...don't stop..." He started to make his way around the piano, encouraging her to keep going. Erik slipped gracefully around her, placing both his hands on her hips; at her hesitation he whispered next to her ear. "Keep singing..."

Christine nodded and kept singing, she couldn't help the goose bumps that formed on her arms as his hands moved from her hips to her stomach. She continued to sing through closing her eyes to keep herself composed.

"Concentrate on breathing from here..." He punctuated his words by tapping his thumb on her abs. The sweet scent of her perfume lofted into senses and he couldn't concentrate in such a close proximity to her, what he'd started as a training segment quickly spiraled out of control due to no fault but his own.

As Christine reached the higher octave she started to struggle and stopped, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She felt a cold rush of air where the warmth of Erik's body had previously occupied. Turning slowly she noticed he had moved to the opposite side of the piano again. "Sorry I couldn't get that highest octave, that's where I was struggling."

Erik nodded concentrating intently on the piano keys, "Yes well...that...that's enough for tonight, you did a very nice job."

Christine tilted her head watching him for a few moments, "So is that my cue to leave, or do you wanna just rush out?" She asked sarcastically watching his head snap up.

"You really do enjoy pushing my buttons don't you," Erik retorted quickly. "It is starting to get late and you need to rest your voice..."

"So what about that rain check then? For coffee?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.

Erik thought about it for a moment, 'what could it hurt...' "Ok...one night this week after practice."

Christine moved slowly around the piano dragging her finger slowly along the edge, "I'll message you this week...." She replied making her way close to him so she was standing toe to toe again with him. Tilting her head as she looked up she whispered, "Don't stand me up." With that she turned on her heels and exited the studio, leaving a stunned Erik standing over the piano with only his thoughts.

A/N: Again thanks to everyone who reviews! Next update coming this weekend, and the song in tonight's update is Fabolous-Can't let you go. Which can be heard on my website. Leave love or hate just let me know you read it.

Lady